What I love is near at hand

September is drawing to a close.  Here are a few more September poems:   “I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point outside the glittering current; My eyes stare at the bottom of a river, At the irregular stones, iridescent sandgrains, My mind moves in more than one place, In

for loved ones who have traveled to the western lands

      Here’s a poem by Gary Snyder: Prayer for the Great Family – Gary Snyder/Turtle Island Gratitude to Mother Earth, sailing through night and day— and to her soil: rich, rare and sweet in our minds so be it. Gratitude to Plants, the sun-facing, light-changing leaf and fine root-hairs; standing still through wind

My new book!

My ninth book of poetry , Not Only/But Also, was released this week. The publisher is Duck Lake Books! Here is the first poem in the book: What You Can’t Know When You’re Young How the big girl with the baby face turns into the woman with bags under her eyes and the fine skins

Terminal Velocity

I wrote this poem about a year after the attack of September 11, 2001:     Physics for Poets   The realm of quantum theory is the very small- Relativity deals with the very large or the very fast- Gravity is the central mystery of our created universe.   I see the man falling the

Murmur your mute benediction

“Crossing to September”  photo by Ann Leshy Wood   First entry for September.  It’s cool and cloudy here, while a terrible hurricane looms off the Carolina coast.   I love this poem by Sara Teasdale:     September Midnight   “Lyric night of the lingering Indian summer, Shadowy fields that are scentless but full of

End of August cats

  Caterpillars, not felines!    Yesterday afternoon, I saw about twelve caterpillars on the milkweed plants and the fennel in our courtyard. Cause for rejoicing!